FROM THIS EPISODE

On this Labor Day edition of To the Point, we hear about President Obama's upcoming speech, Republicans' likely responses and what it's like to be unemployed. It's all about jobs. Also, the US files mortgage lawsuits against Bank of America and 16 other major banks.

Banner image: Large crowds of people attend a job fair hosted by NASA July 26, 2011 in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Photo by Roberto Gonzalez/Getty Images

Late Friday, the Federal Housing Finance Agency sued 17 of the nation's biggest banks, including Bank of America, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs, are banks that received TARP bailouts during the Bush and Obama Administrations. Ironically, the suit itself could mean more bailout money for the same institutions. Dawn Kopecki is finance reporter for Bloomberg News.

On this Labor Day, with unemployment seemingly stuck at 9 percent, all eyes are on Washington, which the Gallop Poll finds more confident about the economy than the rest of America. Last month, the economy created no new jobs at all, and 14 million people are out of work. The unemployed don't stand in lines anymore. They're an invisible army, except on the Internet, which doesn't have the same impact. Democrats and Republicans don't agree on the best way to create more jobs. It's more government spending versus budget cuts and deregulation, and it's unclear if the President will try to change that paradigm in his speech to the joint session on Thursday. (KCRW will broadcast the speech live at 4pm.) We hear about long-term solutions, ask about the short term and hear a voice for the unemployed.